Butterfly's Wings
by MoopzVader
Summary: OT AU fic. What tiny changes can effect the fate of millions? Read the intro for more!
1. Default Chapter

Prologue

What if long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, something _changed_?   
Every day, people dream what would have become of their lives if _this_ had happened; what they could have become if they had made _that_ decision. 

They say that a butterfly, beating it's wings in Japan, could cause a tornado in the U.S, just because it's wings had fluttered at the wrong time. 

Or is it perhaps the _right_ time? 

What if fate, beating it's wings, had granted the life of a being who wasn't supposed to exist? 

What if, instead of _two_ children born of a Sith, there had been **three**?

****

Author's Note: This is my second try with this fic. Last time it was posted on theforce.net boards. Should I continue, or should I just give it up? REVIEW ME!!!


	2. Butterfly's Wings - One Small Change

Part 1 – One Small Change

"That's it, Padmé, push. Come on!" The midwife stood ready to receive the newborn child who was being pushed from the womb. The first of two, as far as the antique equipment used could determine. 

"You can do it, Padmé. One more...Gotcha!" An infant wailed out an indignant protest on being taken from its warm sanctuary. Quickly wrapped in blankets and passed off to a man who stood to the side, the child gasped in its first breaths of air.

"It's a girl, Padmé." The man told the sweating woman beside him softly. 

"Leia..." Padmé gasped out, gripped by another contraction.

"Don't stop pushing!" The midwife spoke up from the foot of the bed.

"Don't sound so cheerful!" Padmé snarled, as pain lanced through her body. "One baby, great, I can handle that. Two babies! If the Jedi don't kill my husband, I will!"  
  
"Padmé, please, calm down." The man holding Leia spoke softly. 

"Hey, why don't we switch, Obi-Wan? You can go through labour, and I'll stand over there and hold my children. That sounds good to me." The former senator of Naboo glanced over at the bearded Knight, her eyes blazing with pain and anger. 

Obi-Wan chuckled suddenly, ignoring the laser bolts Padmé was sending his way through her eyes. The small infant in his arms, while flailing her small arms, had latched onto his hair, and was quite determined to pull it out. 

"One more push…now!" Padmé grunted with effort, and Obi-Wan leaned in closer, offering his support. The second child slipped from her, and she let out a sigh as the pain lessened. It was over. 

"Thank you," Obi-Wan nodded to the midwife, who gave him a small smile, wrapped up the infant in her arms, passed him to Padmé, and left the room.

Padmé offered him a tired, but supremely triumphant smile as she held her son. "His name is Luke." She looked at the baby, and her eyes filled with tears. "He looks like his daddy, doesn't he?"

Obi-Wan looked the other way, bowing his head in recognition of his failure. She needed all the support he could offer now, at possibly the lowest point in both their lives combined. 

Anakin was looking for his wife with an almost obsessive intensity. Obi-Wan could feel him; he was getting too close, and he could only try to shy away from his former Padawan's probes. It wouldn't take much longer for Anakin to locate them; he was far too adept at searching. _Hunting down innocent Knights, Padawans, and Initiates will give you that sort of edge._ Obi-Wan thought bitterly. Far off explosions were heard, and TIEs screamed overhead. Obi-Wan looked up, then looked sadly down at the small family before him, knowing their time together had to end.

Padmé seemed to think along similar lines, and hugged Luke a little tighter to her chest. She looked up at the bearded knight and held out a hand for her other child. Leia, still whimpering, snuggled into her mother's embrace, instinctively entwining her small hand with her brother's. 

Obi-Wan let them stay that way for a little longer, until the explosions were heard again, this time much closer. 

"Padmé," Obi-Wan whispered, "it's time."

"Goodbye, little ones." A tear ran down the young woman's cheek as she handed over her babies. Obi-Wan took them reverently, carefully tucking them both out of sight. 

"I'll look after them, you have my word. Luke is going to Owen, and Leia is going to Bail. They _will_ meet up again, that much I know." Obi-Wan tried to console the grieving mother, but she pushed him away.

"Go, quickly. I…just go." Obi-Wan turned away, finishing, in his mind, what she could not. _I won't be able to let them go if you don't._

"I'm sorry." Obi-Wan whispered, his voice husky with unshed tears. He glanced back once more, and left.

Padmé could barely keep her tears in check. Anakin was far too close, and if she gave full vent to her feelings, he would surely sense it, and he might run into Obi-Wan before the Knight had a chance to escape. 

She closed her eyes as explosions rocked the small building where she hid. A spasm of pain tightened her belly, and she reflexively put a hand to her stomach to soothe it. She had never felt so alone. Normally she would have her aides near her, but with all the destruction, only Sabé remained. 

__

And now Sabé might be gone, too. The former handmaiden had gone to get some food that morning, and had not returned. She might just have taken cover when Anakin had shown up, or…well, Padmé didn't feel the need to finish that thought.

Suddenly, all went silent. Padmé shivered, and propped herself up higher on her bed. She heard the front door open, and heavy footsteps enter the small home. 

"Padmé?" Anakin's voice called. Padmé groaned, then gasped as pain gripped her again. The boots came closer to her room, and the door slowly opened. Anakin peeked his head inside, looking for all the world like the young man who Padmé had fallen in love with. _It isn't him, that's Vader. It isn't him…_she repeated those words like a mantra. Maybe if she kept saying them, she would remember all the things he had done, instead of how much she missed him. 

"I've been looking for you, Padmé." Anakin stepped closer to her bed, cocking his head at her. "Why did you leave?" Anger shone in his eyes; "Did I mean so little to you?"

It isn't him…It isn't him…It- 

"But it _is_ me, Padmé." Anakin loomed over her now, blue eyes begging her to love him. The anger was gone, for the moment. He knelt beside her, and she looked away. Focused on the opposite wall, she jumped when a gentle hand grasped her chin and turned it, making her face him. 

Another spasm, stronger than the first two, hit her and she groaned in pain. Anakin squeezed her hand, his face filled with concern. "Padmé? Are you alright?"

Padmé sucked in air, trying to ease the pain. What was happening? She felt like…

Her eyes snapped open. _Oh, no._

2 months before.

"Your babies are fine; their growth is normal, and they look healthy." The doctor chuckled kindly. "At least as far as this _equipment can determine. I must admit, I'm used to working with far better."_

"What's wrong with it?" Padmé looked sharply at the aging doctor.

"It's old; and doesn't always give correct readings. For example, if one of your twins –let's say the boy – was hiding behind the other, this machine might not pick up his heartbeat." A small light started to flash on the machine, and the doctor frowned.

"What?" Padmé was beginning to get annoyed with the antique machine.

"It thinks it picked up a third heartbeat." The doctor murmured, frowning. He gave the machine a solid THWACK_ and the light shut off. "There we go…"_

"Padmé? What-"

"Medic…now!" Padmé gasped, clutching at her stomach.

"Oh, right." Anakin got up, ran to the door, and roared, "MEDIC!" He scooted back to the bed. "What's going on?"

"I'm…having…a…baby!" Padmé ground out, "What…does…it…look…like?"

Silence.

"Anakin?" Padmé chanced a look at him, and drew back in fear. She had never seen such a look of pure rage as the one he was giving her now. His face had gone white, but slowly seemed to be turning magenta, and he was shaking. His eyes flashed dangerously, and he had his teeth bared.

"Who?" He whispered, making Padmé shiver. "Who sired this child?" He jumped to his feet and paced the room for a moment, then turned back and screamed "WHO?"

Padmé flinched but looked him in the eye, still gasping in pain from her most recent contraction. "You."

Anakin jumped back a step, he had not expected to have the tables turned so completely on him. "Me?"

"Yes." Padmé hissed, as the medic Anakin had called burst into the room. "I…was…never unfaithful. Though you seem to think I was."

"I'm…sorry. You never told me…" Anakin knelt by the bed once more, bowing his head.

"Lord Vader?" The medic seemed to be waiting for permission to begin.

"You may begin, doctor, but be gentle. This is my wife, not a prisoner."

The medic swallowed hard, "Yes, my Lord." 

A few minutes later, the child's first cries were heard.

"It's…it's a girl." A grin split Anakin's face as he took his child from the medic. He nodded at the man, "Leave us."

Anakin smiled gently as he looked down at his daughter. Her hair – the little that there was – was as dark as Padmé's. She squirmed in his arms, and her eyes popped open. Her hands flailed out, touching his cheeks, nose, and lips. He nuzzled the small palms, smiling into the eyes that were so like his own.

He knelt by Padmé again. "She's perfect." He murmured. He looked at his wife, "What is her name?"

"I don't know, what do you think?"

"You must have thought about it." He cocked his head at her and frowned slightly. "Didn't you?"

"I did, but I hadn't narrowed it down yet." Anakin nodded, accepting her excuse. _Phew…_

She frowned, "Skywalker…what goes well with Skywalker?"

"Va-" Anakin began to correct her, but she silenced him with a glare.

"I married Anakin Skywalker, my name is Skywalker, and _her _name is Skywalker." She stared out into nothing. "What about-"

"Stephanie." He smiled, reading her thought. "Stephanie Skywalker. I like it." He picked up his daughter, and hugged her to his chest. He turned to Padmé, "Are you ready to go?"

"Where?" Padmé asked, drawing back at his change of topic.

"She must be taken to Palpatine. She'll be trained as a Sith." He smiled uncertainly "You do want us to be together, don't you? The only way we can do that is if she is turned to the Dark."

"No! Anakin, you can't!" _You can't corrupt her! Don't kill her innocence._

"I can and will, Padmé." Darkness clouded his eyes; "Will you come with us? Or will you abandon your daughter?"

"Please, Anakin, don't…" Padmé knew that if Anakin chose to take their daughter, there was very little she could do about it. 

"You have made you decision, Padmé? You may join us on Coruscant if you want to. I hope to see you there." He backed away a step.

Suddenly, blue light washed over him, and he crumpled to the floor.

Sabé stood in the doorway, a blaster in hand. She jumped over to Anakin's side and retrieved Stephanie from his twitching grip. The infant began to cry again, surprised and upset. Sabé hurriedly brought her over to her mother, but Padmé signaled her to run.

"Go!" Padmé cried, seeing Anakin stir on the floor. _That stun bolt won't keep him out for long…_

"Sabé…" Anakin rasped, his voice sounding tortured, "if you take that child, you will be _very_ sorry. I don't know how you managed to do that, but if you give me my child, I will not dismember you."

"Go, now!" Padmé urged her frozen aide out of the room, and seeing her run down the hall, called after her, "Take her to Obi-Wan!"

Then Padmé and Anakin were alone. 


	3. Butterfly's Wings Betrayal

2

Anakin raised himself from the floor and looked at the one he had called his angel. His face transformed into a mask of rage and betrayal, "That was foolish, my wife." He hissed. 

"You have murdered more people then I can count, you have sworn allegiance to a corrupt leader, and you have turned against the ways you once held so dear. I can forgive all that, Anakin." She looked him in the eye, "But when you would turn your own child into a pawn…"

"I am going to retrieve the child you stole from me." He drew himself to his full height and glared down at her. "We will discuss this later."

"I do this because I love her, Anakin," Padmé said quietly. "and because I love you."

Anakin turned away, "If you love me, why do you not give me the chance to know my own child?" He turned his hurt eyes to her, "I will return, so you may want to give some thought to whether or not you will come with me to Coruscant." He strode purposefully towards the door, and left.

Deep in the bowels of Coruscant, a cackling voice spoke into a small comlink. "Lady Vader is a traitor, Captain Ozzel. You know what we do with traitors, do you not?"

"Yes, your Highness."

"Good. Now go!" _You have no more ties, Lord Vader. You are mine._

Vader was close, he could feel it. The girl called to him, she was confused and needed him. He followed those cries down alleys and side streets. He was so close…

A ship blasted off from a landing pad directly in front of him. Vader sighed in frustration; this was going to be a little more difficult, but no matter. 

He thumbed on his comlink "Send a squadron after the J-Type 327 Nubian that is exiting atmosphere. I want that ship captured. I repeat, do not destroy that ship. If you do, you will all be compost by sunrise." A part of him screamed out, enraged by his cruel treatment of men who had chosen to serve the Empire.

__

It matters not. I…she needs me. I am her father. She cannot be stolen from me!

The death ripped through him, and he fell to his knees._ Padmé! No!_

He raced back to the small dwelling where he had found his wife, and found the entire building consumed by flames. Stormtroopers were trying to put out the blaze, but it was too late. 

He slowly walked away from the burning building. It was only when he was out of sight of his troops that he let out the scream of anguish that had been fighting for release.


End file.
